Thousands of travelers are hitting the road this summer and taking the comforts of home with them.

They sleep, cook and entertain in their motor homes, trailers and popup campers, at parks, campgrounds, on the beach and in the wilderness.

For at least some of them, their induction into the RV lifestyle started at General RV in Wixom. It’s the largest family-owned RV dealership in the country, with 12 locations — a 13th will open by the end of the year — in Florida, Michigan, Ohio, Illinois and Utah, 1,600 employees and sales that top 17,000 RVs annually.

The flagship store and headquarters along Interstate 96 at Wixom Road stocks 500-600 RVs, maintains 40 service bays for repair and sells accessories, furniture and appliances for mobile living.

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A bus-sized RV takes on large interior proportions when the bump-outs are extended. This model is built by Pace Arrow.(Photo: Bill Bresler | hometownlife.com)

General RV has come a long way in 65 years.

“We started with a gas station in 1953. My grandfather had a gas station in Redford and one on Five Mile and Meyers (in Detroit). He had the opportunity to sell and make a little more money than pumping gas and thought it was a good avenue to get into,” said Loren Baidas, General RV president and a Milford Township resident. His uncle now serves as CEO and a brother-in-law and a cousin’s husband also are involved in the family business.

“Back then, dealerships did a lot of different things because the RV market was so small. He sold utility trailers and built utility trailers. There’s no blueprint that says this is what you need to run an RV dealership. You learn as you go as to what you need.”

Baidas’s grandfather and his father figured that continual investment in employees and customers would set General RV apart from competitors. That meant upgrading facilities, expanding to new markets, training employees and improving the service side of the dealership. The company has added 200 service bays in the last five years alone.

“I don’t think there’s another RV dealership in the country that has done that,” Baidas said. “If you look around, I think there are a lot of dealers that haven’t changed in 10 or 20 years.”

Loyal customers

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If you are not into giant RVs, you might consider this teardrop-shaped trailer. You could probably tow this with your Kia. The air-conditioned interior is sleeping space for 2.(Photo: Bill Bresler | hometownlife.com)

Baidas says most customers that try an RV vacation enjoy the experience. General RV sees generations of customers, two- and three-time buyers, in an increasingly younger market.

“Customers I sold to 15-20 years ago still come back and look for me," he said. "I had a customer yesterday, they bought their third one from us. They bought their first one in 2000. Their kids are grown now, so they are buying one without bunk beds.”

Although retirees make up a portion of RV buyers, the largest segment of the market is ages 40-50, according to Baidas.

“What we’re seeing now for the last three or four years, as the industry has grown, is that number has gone from the 40s to the 30s," he said. "We’re getting younger families starting earlier. That has helped fuel the growth of the industry.”

According to a University of Michigan study commissioned by the RV Industry Association in 2011 — a new study will be published this year — approximately 10 million households own an RV. Households headed by 35- to 54-year-olds own the largest share of RVs.

Baidas says young families that are more price-conscious may invest in a smaller trailer, but likely will return in a few years to trade up for something with more elbow room.

Popup camping trailers are the least expensive at $6,000 to $12,000, but represent a small segment of the industry. Most new popup units include a stove, refrigerator, sink and furnace, while more expensive models have bathrooms and air conditioners. Travel trailers cost from $10,000 to $50,000, depending on size and amenities, and are the most popular, even among families pinching pennies.

“A lot of people jump right into a travel trailer, where a fold-down might have been their first choice 10-15 years ago," Baidas said. "A travel trailer is very economical for families. It’s the most affordable. You’re talking about something under $200 a month.”

Best sellers

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The Outback edition interior features TV, air conditioning, charging ports, and sleeping space for 2 adults. Maybe 3 if you are good friends.(Photo: Bill Bresler | hometownlife.com)

Bill Sheffer, executive director of Michigan Association of Recreational Vehicles and Campgrounds, said RV buyers today “want more space” and find it in a travel trailer.

According to Sheffer, 13,362 new travel trailers were sold in Michigan last year. Fifth-wheel trailers, which are towed by trucks, accounted for 3,762 RV sales and 1,763 new motor homes and 510 new popup trailers were sold. The average price of a motor home sale was $122,390. The average price of a trailer was $23,910.

Approximately 35 percent of General RV’s sales is in used RVs.

Buying an RV is similar to buying a house, Baidas said. The online photos won’t tell the entire story, so potential buyers should “touch it, feel it, walk through it.”

“Out of the available brands in this marketplace, we probably carry 80 percent … so a customer can look at a $20,000 travel trailer and we’ll have four or five different brands for them to look at,” he said.

“TVs are huge now, because we have flat-screen TVs that are affordable. You can put a TV in a wall anywhere,” Baidas said. “In the last two to three years, we’ve started to see outdoor kitchens. They have a stove, refrigerator and sink built into the sidewall so you don’t have to traipse in and out of the RV if you’re entertaining outside.”

Like home

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The camper trailer includes a galley with a 2-burner stove, sink, fridge, and a microwave.(Photo: Bill Bresler | hometownlife.com)

A quick tour of General RV’s service area, where motor homes and trailers are prepped for their new owners, turns up a $40,000 trailer with an indoor kitchen — including an island — and outdoor kitchen, three slide-outs, a bathroom with shower, master bedroom, bunks for four and theater-style seating in front of the wall-mounted television set.

In another service bay, a $120,000, 37-foot motor home includes king- and queen-sized beds, laundry area, three television sets indoors and one hidden by a panel on the outside.

A few bays down, a $20,000 teardrop-style trailer that appeals to millennials seems to take a cue from the “tiny house” craze, with barely enough room for a bed, a bathroom and cooking area.

Regardless of their size, RVs help families create memories and make new friends, Baidas said.

“RVs are something different for everybody, but there are so many things they can provide," he said. "That’s why they have such a broad appeal. It’s a remarkable industry.”